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@ni-fw tetra' @anni @fitta JACOB D.. WHITE, or vKILBOU'RNE, 01110.Letters Patent No. 73,065,.datec l January 7, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHEEP-RACES;

ftitlge Stimuli nutten tu in tipa tttters ntatt mit mating ont at tlg-etime.

To' ALL WHOM 1r MAY coNoEnN:

Be it known that I, JACOB D. WHI TE, of Kilbourne,in the county ofDelaware, and State of Ohio, have invented and'made certain new anduseful Improvements in Sheep-Racks; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to l the letters ofreference marked thereon.'

Figure 1 is a perspective representation of the raclgcomplete.

Figure 2 is an end view of the rack, showing the pieces of leather orspring-metal cn the inside of the rack, tohold up the ladder. I

. The nature'of my improvements consists in' the peculiar arrangementofv the ladders of racks for feeding sheep and other animals in such amannerns that the ladder is hinged or works on journalen ds, and is heldin position by the pressure of the quantity of hay, straw, or grass thatis supplied withinthe box or receptacle to which the rack; is attached,the ladder also being so arranged in vertical position as to `act ormove by its own gravity, and rest on the supply of hay or grass, as itdiminishes in feeding.' i

In order to enable others to be skilledin the construction, use, andadvantages of my iiprovements, I,pro ceed to explain the same. l f

In iig. 1, letters a a aa mark a box-like receptacle, of convenientportable size, the front side having a l base-board, b I: b, fromtwelves to fourteen inches wide, and thewhole length 0,5 the box,securely attached, perf manently, if desired, or hinged'in any suitablemanner. Letters c c c mark a top railfor board, 'attached in a similarmanner, if desired, saidboard being designed as a guard and arest-board, used to keepthe animal feeding from getting its body withinthe box. Letters rl dud niark an inclined or sloping lid, which ishinged by 4its under side edge to the back board of the` box a a a a.This hinged lidfallsvovertowards the front' of the box, andrests againsta strip or rail, e cie, attached to the top ofthe box, said lid beingprovided with a suitable hook or fastening, ff.v Letters g y g grnarlr'a` suitable ladder. or grating, the lowerlongitudinal rail orstrip gzgz having its ends formed with suitable journals, which work insockets or boxes h 7a, formed 1n the end-boards I-I I I; saidsock'etsfor boxes being situated so as to bring the lower` rail or`strip g2 g2 slightly above-and parallel with the'top vof the base-boardb be. The upper rail or strip J J J, indicated by the dotted lines, islong enough to fit in slightly loose between the endboardsof theboa-receptacle; .but in order to heep the ladder or grati-ngg g g2 g2 ina vertical position, when required, small `pieces of leather, h2 `,`orspringmetal, are attached to the inside surfaces of the end boards I I II, tig. 2, which pieces ofleather interposed .between the ends of theupper rail J J, when in vertical position, prevent thevladder g gfromfalling down dat on to the bottom or Hoor k'k 7c, except when slightlypressed against by the animal feeding at the rack; the

whole arrangement', when complete, as shown in g.1,'form'i ng afeeding-rack or portable'manger, with a sloping and weather-tight cover.v

In the use ofmy improvements,.all that is necessary is'to open or turndown the lid or cover del d, when the'material of foodis supplied withinthe receptacle, in required quantity. 'When hay or other similarmaterial is'fed, it presses up against the ladder or-rack ggg2 g2, andas the animal feeding through Vthe bars or rounds ofthe grating reducesthe supply, itsnose orhead pressing against the bars or rounds causesthe ladder or rack to give and turn down inwardly towardsv andag'ainstthe diminishing supply, and resting lthereon until allthefeeding-material is consumed. I Owing to the limited space or openingbetween the base-board b b b and the top guard-board c c! c', the animalis prevented from entering within the b ox and from treading the foodunder feet.` The arrangement of the base-board b'b b, the top rail c oc,and the ladder or rack gg ggggis such as to prevent entirely the seedand dirt from the hay or straw falling on to the animal feeding.Especially is this vimportant in the' feeding of sheep, for therebytheir wool is kept clean and free of seed and dirt, and aiording greatcomfort Ato the animal in feeding, as it cannot throw its head upward,to pull down the hay or straw, thereby preventing injury. also to theanimals eyes, all of which are greatly desired inthe feeding of sheepand other animals yielding fieeces. l y

In cases where the seed from grass or timothy hay, or heads of clover,fall on to the bottom or floor of the rack or manger, the animal feedingcan consume the same freely and conveniently, by licking up between thei bars or grating of the-ladder; and in the feeding of oats or grain,there cannot be any wasteby the trampling under feet of the food,:thebase-board b b being too high to allow the animal to get itsfore feetwithinthe receptacle.l Thus economy, cleanliness, and convenience areproduced, and comfort to the animal afforded, with the least labor andexpense. v I A The many advantages ofl my improvements are apparent, andthe simplicity of construction and cheapness are additionalrecommendations in the feeding ofsbeep. Therack or manger beingportable, can be Aarranged ou wheelsy and moved from place to place Vinfields or farm-yards, and can be set up alongside of 'any barn orshedfand` opening niade to "communicate from within, where theanimalsumay be housed in wet and cold seasons, andrfed from-the racksituated on the outside; y i

I am'aware that 'there are several feeding-racks in use, in connectionwith'which movable or hinged ladders are combined, with other necessarydevices, for adjusting the ladder; but I am notl aware that there hasever been employed a simple ladder, so arranged that it remains in' avertical position by the mererpressure of the material used for feeding,and the-piecesof` leather, h2 hz, or spring-metal, figs. land 2,employed to'retain the ladder in position while the feed-receptacle ormanger is being supplied through the opening on top.

In the sheep-rack patented by Willi-am Heaton, September 29,1863, a.hinged 'fork or rake-like device is employed, but in oirder that itperform the desiredV oice, an auxiliary bar, connec'tedby joints, isfound requisite, the weight of which causes the hinged fox-lc tofallbackward as the supply of feeding-material diminishes.

In the patents of William and H'. Sias, of July-19, 1864, and tbe patentof Rodman Lovell, of May 15, 1866, hingedl ladders are employed; butthey` only fall back partially, and do' not all the time press or reston the material supplied for feeding, whilst the ladder or grating usedin my rack moves and pressesndown on the feed-supply, by its owninherent weight and gravity mainly, after being pushed from its verticalposition by the animal feeding. Hence my improvements require noauxiliary devicesto move the4 ladder or grating. Morel over, neither ofthe devices referred to above is susceptible, as -it exists, of beingapplied toinyhfeedingrack; any alteration found requisite to make onetake the place of the other, changing the original nature and mechanicalcharacter entirely, and destroying the identity of each. Therefore,neither of the feeding-devices aboverreferred to can be the equivalentsof myimprovement. Nor do they possess the compactness and simplicitypertaining to the improvements claimed by me as new.

Having described the nature, construction, use, and advantages of mysaid improvements, what I claim as new, and desire to have secured byLetters Patent of the United States, .is as follows, viz:

I claim a feeding-rackor manger, a a a, b b, c e, I I, provided with aninclined hingedlidorcover, d d, and a self-adjustingfeed-rack, g g g2, JJ', which is held in a vertical position by the pieces of leather 7a271.2 aiiixed to each end of the rack, and so arranged as to pressbackwardly orf the feeding-material by its own gravity, without anyauxiliary' appliances, constructed and arranged substantially as hereinshown anddeseribed, for.

the purpose set forth.

JACOB D. WHITE.

Witnesses: Y

S. W. WHITE, ELIJAH ABBOTT.

